Machine for making and filling bags



Dec. .15 1925. l .1.565.615 A. M. BATESET AL MCHINE FOR UAKING ANDFILLING BAGS Filed llay 20, 1919 12 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 15 19251.565.615

A. M. BATES ET AL MACHINE FOR MAKING AND FILLING BAGS Filed nay 2o. 191912 sheets-sheet 2 n'nl Dec. 15, 1925. 1,565,615

A. M. BATES ET AL MACHIQE FOR MAKING AND FILLING BAGS Filed May 20 191912 Sheets-Shef 3 .Attornkey/ Dec.

A. M. BATES El' AL MACHINE FOR MAKING AND FILLING BAGS Filed May 2O 191912 SheetS-Shet 4 15H/e no?" cZeZWzer JC,

Dec. 15, 1925- 1,565,615 A. M. BATES El' AL MACHINE FQR MAKING ANDFILLING BAGS Filed May 20 1919 l2 Sheets-Sheef 5 Dec. 15 1925. 1.565.615

- A. M. BATES Er Al.

MACHINE FOR UAKNG AND FILLING BAGS 12 SheetS-Shet 6 Filed Nay 20 1919 fvn 6 Dec. 15 1925. 1.565.615

A. M. BATES Er AL MACHINE FOR IIAKING AND FILLING BAGS Filed nay 2o,1919 12 sheets-sheet v A. M. BATES ET AL MACHINE FOR MAKING AND FILLINGBAGS` Dee. 15 1925 1,565,615

Dec. 15 1925. 1,565,615 A. M. BATES ET AL A MACHINE FOR IMKING NDFILLING BAGS Filed lay 20, 1919 12 VSheecs-Shee: 9

A. M. BATES El' AL IAGKINB FOR IMKING AND FILLING BAGS F1104 Il y 20,1919 12 Sheets-Sheet 10 Impfen/0715 Dec.V l5 l925 A. M. BATES ET ALMACHINE Fon muuu AND'FILLING BAGS F1154 nay 2c, 1919 A. M. BATES ET ALMACHINE FOR MAKING AND FILLING BAGS Filed lay 2O 1919 12 Sheets-Sheet 12Patented Dec. 15, 1925.

UNITED STTES ATE?? ADELMER M. BATES AND JOHANN E. DANCKER, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS T8 BATES VALVE BAG COMPANY, OF OHCAGO, TLLINGIS, ACORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINA.

MACEINE FOR 'MAKTNG AND FILLING BAGS.

Application filed May 20, i919.

To all whom z' may concern:

Be it known that we, Ansinnen M. BATES, a citizen of the United States,and JOHANN E. DANGKER, formerly a subject of the Emperor of Germany, andnow a citizen of Germany, each residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Machines for Making and Filling Bags, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Our invention relates to a machine for making and filling bags. Itcomprises moans, separate in a certain sense but still intimately(5o-operating, for first making a continuous tube from a roll ofpreferably printed or previously prepared fabric, which tube is, afterit is made, turned inside out and drawn down around an inner fillingtube. Somewhere below the filling tube, ineans are provided for sewingup the open end of the fabric tube and means are also provided fortamping or packing or jigging the material into the closed lower end ofthe tube after a charge of said material has been placed in the bag bythe filling tube. Means then operate to pull the tube up, to stretch thefabric, compress the loose material in the top of the charge, and takeup all the slack of bag material. lhile the fabric is thus held tight,the upper bag seam is made, the bag being cut away from the tube as theseam is being made. Two transverse seams are made simultaneously by adouble needle sewing machine, so that as the bag is made and dischargedthe end of the tube is closed, ready for the neXt charge, which is heldaway from the sewing station, but preferably will have been previouslydischarged into the tube and be ready to drop down to the end as soon asit is released.

ln order to assist the operator in spacing the transverse bag seams andoperating the sewing machine, sewing marks are preferably printed on theroll of cloth or bag formin material, and the ordinary trade mark orother similar printing is properly positioned on the roll of cloth,between the sewing marks, so as to come in the proper place on each bag.

The apparatus which forms the tube comprises two tubes, one within theother. The

Serial No. 298,452.

roll of cloth is drawn up around the outside of the larger tube, beingstretched thereabout by cloth drawing or stretching rolls, which havediagonal axes and are milled, so that, as the cloth is drawn betweenthem, they eX- tend the cloth to position its edges for the sewingmachine.

Associated with the cloth drawing or stretching rolls, a change in theinclination of which will, of course, tend to vary their lateral feed,may be stops running along the edge of the fabric against which therolls would feed the fabric, the idea being that we may, particularly ifthe fabric has it stiff edge, relyY possibly largely upon 'theengagement of the stiff edge with the stop to control the width of thefabric between the seam and the edge.

rThese stops may be adjusted according to the different hardness orstiffness of the two edges of the bag fabric, and, by proper adjustmentof the stops and of the fabric pulling rollers, separately or in unison,we can always arrive at a satisfactory adjustment which will result inbringing the two edges of the fabric into aligninent'ibefore the sideseam is made.

Our invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a front elevation of the side seaming part of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the lower or filling and cross seamingportion of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the upper or longitudinal side seemingpart of the machine as shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 4L is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of that part of the machine shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a detailed elevation of a part of the lower filling portion ofthe machine, the view being taken on the opposite side of Fig. e withparts in a different position;

Figs. 7 and 8 are details on a large scale showing the upper and lowerbag supports in a different position from that shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a section on an enlarged scale along the line 9-9 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 10 is an elevation of the crank dise and connecting rod with springcasing in section and parts omitted;

Fig. 11 is a section on the line 11-11 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 12 is a section along the line 12--12 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 13 is a section along the line 13-13 0f Fig'. l;

Fig. 14tis a detailedsection along the line 14e-14 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 15 is a detailed section along the line 15-15 of Fig'. l;

Fig. 16 is a side elevation of the fabric stretching device shown inFig. l;

Fig'. 17V is a. section along` the line 1.7-17 of Fig. 16;

Fig. 1S is a section along of 16;

Figure 19 corresponds to Figure 2 except. that it shows a innchsimplified form of the device with much of the apparatus and mechanismshown in Figure 2 omitted;

Figure 2O is a side elevation of Figure 19.

Like parts are indicated b y like characters in all the figures.

For convenience in description. we have divided our appaiatus up intothree zones. The first` is the weighing- Zone where inaterial to bepacked into the bag is weighed and measured and in time is dischargedinto a receptacle. The second Zone is the fabric tube forming Zone wherethe roll of fabric previously having been printed, is formed into acontinuous flowing tube, first inside out with the side seam on theoutside, then reversed so that the side seam is on the inside, and thenstored ready to be formed into separate bags. The third zone, is the bagfilling and forming zone where the niaterial from the weighing Zone isdischarged into the closed end of the tube and jigged or compacted, andwhere the bag is sewn up and discharged.

It will he understood. of course. that the operations are being carriedon simultaneousliY and continuousl)v in these three Zones. and that thetiming` of the operations in the weighing and filling zones must bequite accurately correlated so that7 as soon as the end of the tube isclosed, a charge may be thrown into the bag. and so that no furthercharge may be thrown in until the first bag has been closed and cut offand the end of the tube has also been closed ready for the next charge.The closing of the upper end of the filled bag and lower end of the tubetakes place simultaneously and is immediately followed by the cutting'away of the filled bag.

The provision of a storage zone where the tube, after it has beenformed, is puckered or piled up at the lower portion of the tube formingzone, protects the side seaming apparatus from any shocks or joltsresulting the line 18--18 from the fall of the separate charges into theend of the tube, and makes it unnecessary to have the operation of thefilling and transverse searning Zone synchronized closely with respectto the operation of the tube forming zone.

For convenience, we will describe the apparatuses of the second andthird zones only. The particular mechanism of the first Zone is notnecessarily novel and may be of any well known and ordinary type.

Tube forming zone.

A is a su p porting platform carrying a machine base A1 and frame A2. A3is a roll of printed cloth which is to be formed into a continuousflowing fabric tube. A4 is a hollow tube form supported at its lower endonly, on legs A, and steadied atits upper end by the opposed tubefeeding rollers A engaging its opposite sides. Rollers A6 are mounted onshafts All. connected by means of gears Eis, and driven for rotation inuni.h son through the motor A1" by the belt and jack shaft powertransmission apparatus, as shown.

The fabric strip is brought around the forni and finally stretchedthereabout by the inclined cloth stretching rollers B B, which aremounted on similar spring forks B1 B1 held adjustably together by thumbscrews B2 B2 engaging slotted yokes B3 B3 on Opposed hinge plates B4 B4.hese hinge plates also serve as stops to position or enthe edges of thefabric, there being a bracket between the hinge plates upon which theyare respectively pivoted. Each plate with the bracket forms a pocketthrough which the edge of the fabric travels on its way to the pointwhere it is engaged by the stretchingrollers. These hinged plates haveoutwardly extending angleine-mbers B Ff. integral with the plates andprovided with lugs B7 B7 adapted to be engaged by lock pin BR. wherebythe rollers and hinge plates may be locked in the working position asindicated in full lines in Figure 1S. or may be released. when the pinis witlidrawn. as indicated by dotted lines, to position the edges ofthe fabric before the operation commences. The stretching rollers areinclined outwardly with respect to the line of travel of the fabric soas to tend to draw the edges of the fabric out and briner them intoalignment with each other and stretch the fabric into form, so as toprovide sufiicient clearance between the edges of the fabric and theseam to make it possible for the side seaining sewing machine to do itswork.

The sidf` seaniingl sewingv machine ci mounted on the frame il?. l't hasthe usual horn C1 against which the folded or parallel edges of thefabricv held by the presser foot C2. The sewing machine is driven by themotor A10 through a belt applied to the pulley C3, and operates in theusual inanner. @it ctnufse, the speed ci: the sewingn'uu chine and thetube 'feeding1 or pulling rollers is synchronized so that, when themotor is operated, the rollers rotate in engagement with the tabric tubeand draw it up along the form at the sp ed at which the sewinl` machineset to operate.

l) is a hopper adapted to catch n'iaterial discharged trom the weighingzone and discharge it into the lieedinle' tube El, which passesdownwardly to and tl'iroug'h the tube 'formingJ Zone and into thefilling' zone. This tube is, ot course, smaller in diameter than, andlocated inside ot, the tube form. Se tar as the material being' paclredis concerned, this tube serves merely as a conduit to pass the materialdownwardly to the lilling zone and to protct the tube trom con tact withthe filling' material betere it .is needed. So tar as the tube formino;Zone is concerned, however', this inner feeding'y tube serves as aninner form to prevent a total collapse ot the tube as it passesdowmvardly inside oi the outer tube termina' torni. This tube issupported only at the top by the bracket l 12, and is ster died at thebot-tom by eno'ag'en'ient with the tube pullingrollers D2 D', driven, bymeans oit shaft and belt as shown, in unison with the rollers A0. E0 iswhat we have called a governor collar. lt surrounds the tube D1, therebeing just room between it and the tube 'for the loosely collapsed orpuekered fabric to be passed through. rlhis governor collar is normallyheld in the upright position by means of weights D4 D* and by means ofswitch hooks D5 D5 engaging switch arms D0 D0, which close the circuitthrough the conductors D? DS to operate the motor A10. rlhe relativesizes ot this governor collar and inner tubeare such that the fabrictube cannot pass between them unless drawn from below. The result isthat the continuously downwardly flowing supply of formed tabrie tubepiles up or puclrers up, as indicated, about the 'feeding' tube, untilthe pressure exerted downwardly by the weight oi material linallyovercomes the counter-balancing weights and the hold ot the springswitch hooks, and forces the governor ring down into the posit-ion shownin Figure 1. rl`his breaks the circuit, and the operation of the sewing;machine and the llow oit the ilormirur tube ceases until the demand torthe tube below in the lill-ring' sono has drawn out so much ot thesupply of tubing' that the weights are able to pull the governor ring'up, close the circuit, and start operation` ot the sewing machine.

E is a tube spreading or clamping` cone mounted above the discharge endot' wthe liller tube D1. D10 is a spring check or feed ring` made up ota circular coiled spring surrounding' the fabric tube and holding itagainst the cone D0. rl he inclination of the cone and tension et thespring` are such that the spring,T does not slip oft the cone but u'iaybe drawn down toward its base as the tube is ted down. rlhc resistanceto movement on the part ot the tube may be varied by changing theinclination ot the cone and the teusion oli the spring', and, in somecases, this resistance might be sullicient to suspend the entire weightof the lilled bag, leaving' it to the operator to pull out the fabricwhen needed. At the lower extremity of the lline; tube Dl are twoyielding),` bar; spreadingr or stretching lingers D arranged to spreadand Vdat-ten the tube. rl`hese fingers, ot course, will give whennecessary to permit an opening' et the tube when material is passed intoit from the feeding* tube.

Bag filling and form/zing sono,

E is a bed plate mounted on a door or platform below the floor A. El isa trame carried thereby, provided with a bridge E2 sup ported at itsouter end ou the bed plate E by a column E is a cradle pivoted on ashaft E5 on a lug projecting' trom the bridge E0. E0 E7 are carriagesslidably mounted on the cradle E4 and provided with interlocking;` jawsES E0, adapted to engage the flattened tube when in locking position.These jaws are brought together or separated as the case may be by apinion E10`r engaging' racks E11 El2 on the two slides. This pinion ismounted on the shalt E5, which in turn carries a pinion E00, engaged bya segmental gear El3 rotatably mounted and adapted to be rotated by anadjustable connecting` rod EM, connected to roel; arm E15 on shatt E0,the arrangen'ient being such that an upward movement ot this rod tendsfirst to draw the jaws together and clamp and grip the tube and then tooscillate the entire mechanism upwardly to pull the tube itself up tothe position shown in Figure (i, while a downward movement will resultin lowering' and sepaf rating the j aws, as shown in Figures d and 5.

E is a bracket projecting` outwardly from the bridge E2 andhavingoscillatably mounted thereon the levers F1 F2, each provided withineshing segmental gears F3 F3 and carryingparallel and opposed pairs ettube clampingjaws El' F0, the distance between adjacent pairs beineadjustable by means ot thumb screws F0. F7 is a hand lever whereby thesejaws may be closed, and FS a spring tending normally to hold them in anopen position. rEhe jaws El Ft operate as packing jaws when thebagfabric or tube is pulled upwardly by the operation ot the clampingandlifting' jaws ES E0, and in order that the slack ot the bag fabric maybe taken up the aws F4 F5 do not come into actual engagement but merelysteady the fabric with suliieient clearance to permit movement ot thefabric between them as it is upuf'ardly pulled` F9 is a sewing machinemounted on the tace ot the iti-ame E1, having a horn F10 in oppositionto a double needle head F11, in line with the space between the jaws FlF5, so that the tube may be drawn forward into the sewingmachine by theoperator. F12 is a kniile arranged to cut the t'abric ot the tubebetween the two seams made by the two needles, to cut oil the i'illedbag and separate it from the end ot the tube at the same time that theend ot the tube is closed.

Gf is a decine c adle mounted adiustablv CD Q i A :for elevation bymeans or split coilzu J1 on columns risingl -trom the bed plate E. rlhisjigging cradle has slotted bottom. G3 G3 are jigging lingers mounted ona lever (it and adapted, when the lever is rotated on the pivot pin G5,to move up and down through the slots in the cradle G and the bag orpackage. The lever G4' is adapted to be reciprocated by means ot theadjustable connecting rod G6. terminating at the lower end in aneccentric collar G1, engaging an eccentric GS on the shaft G9, whichshaft is in turn driven by means ot belt and pulleys, as indicated, fromthe motor G10. rl`he shaft G9 is carried by a bracket G11, which also isslidably mounted on the columns G2.

Projecting upwardly `troni the jigging cradle are arms i l-l, upon whichare oscillatably mounted adjustable lloor plates H1 H1. rlfhese floorplates are controlled by levers H2 H2 and links ll H2. rlhese linksextend downwardly to and are pivoted on a lock bar H4, being `gjuided bymembers H5. Wien this lock bar H4 is downwardly moved by the bell crankiever HG into the position shown in Figure G, the latch H7 is throwninto line with the lock bar by the spring' HS, whereby the floor platesH1 are held in upper position to litt the bag' oil1 the jigging`platform, thus compressing" the spring` H9, which tends normally toassist the force oi gravity in urging' the floor plates H1 into theposition shown in Figure S. rlhis latch has a lug' H10, adapted to bemoved by the link H11. which is pivotally mounted at its upper end onthe member which carries the jaws F4 F5. so that when 'he jaws areopened by the hand lever F7 the latch is tripped and the i'loor platesdrop down to permit the o'l the next bag.

rlhe adjustable connectingrod l is pivoted at its upper end on thecradle and at its lower end engages a cam J 1, pivoted on the bracketG11. This cam is adapted to engage a` roller l2 on the bell crank leverFi, so that when the clamping and lifting` jaws move upwardly the cainis rotated and forces the locking` rod H4 down and moves the adjustableiloor plates H1 into the position shown in Figure G, thereby lifting thebag` ofi the jigging platform. JS is acrank disc two-part one with aspring` J5 between the two parts and contained within a sleeve J wherebythe pull on the fabric is a yielding` spring-like pull to preventdestruction or breakage ot any of the parts. J7 is a pedal adapted tocontrol the clutch to throw the crank disc into and out et operation,and J8 is a pedal adapted to throw the sewing machine into and out otoperation. lt will be understood, of course, that these two pedals aresullicient to operate the entire mechanism in the bagfilling' andforming zone, except that previous to the sewing process and previous tothe operation of the crank disc the operator will lirst close thepacking jaws so that the li'lting jaws will have something to pullagainst.

lt will be evident. that while we have shown in our drawings anoperative device many changes might be made in size, shape andarrangement ot parts without departing materially troni the spirit ofour invention, and we wish, therefore, that our drawings be consideredas in a sense diagrammatic.

ln order to more cleagly bring` this out, we have shown in Figures 19and 2O a modilied form in which much of the mechanism in the iilling`and forming Zone has been omitted.

ln Figures 19 and 2O the tube K, as it comes down trom the tube formingzone, will be closed oli` by the operation ot the sewing; machine K1,driven from the motor K2. The operator merely takes hold of the twosides ot the 'flat collapsed tube and swings it through the sewing'machine, making a curved line of stitches, as indicated in the dottedlines. le then pulls down on the bag; tube until it comes down as far asthe platform K2. He then starts the llino apparatus by pulling on thecord Kt, and a charge is dumped down through the filling tube to lillthe bottom ot the 'fabric tube K. rlhe operator then agjain swings thetubo across the sewing; machine and as the two needles sew two parallelarcuate seams the knife cuts the 'fabric between them. The operator'then throws the bag;v oil the platform, pulls down another length ofl'abric tube and the process is repeated. ln this arrangement, orcourse, the bag;` is suspended by ineens or" the frictional resistancewhich resists the downward movement of the flowing tube, and theplatform K3 might very are as follows:-

A printed roll of fabric or other flexible bag forming material is putin place. It is carried by hand up to the top of the hollow bag formingtube` The feeding rollers are rotated and the fabric fed up between therollers and the top of the form tube. The

bag fabric is then pulled down around theY ferm, lthe stretching rollersbeing swung aside to permit the edges of the fabric to be put in placebetween them. The rollers are then swung back into position, the sewingmachine is put in place, the power is turned on, and the sewing machineoperates as the bag fabric is drawn along past the sewing head by thefeeding rollers. The bag stretching rollers can be so positioned or setas to cause the bag fabric to feed out the proper distance away from theform to give the desired width of seam, the tension of the stretchingrollers and their angle of inclination being, of course, adjustable.

As the fabric is drawn through the machine, a cylindrical tube isformed. This cylindrical tube will be fed by hand down into and throughthe form until the lower end comes out below the bottom thereof. At thispoint the free end of the fabric is fed between the inner feeding tubeand the lower bag feeding rollers, and, as soon as the unsewn end of thefabric comes past the lower feeding rollers, it may be cut off. Thefabric tube is fed down through the iioor, through the governing ringand around the tube spreading cone, the coil spring being put in placeon the outside of the fabric tube and resting against the cone to limitand control the flow of fabric tube down around the cone.

As long as the mate-rial is not puckered up between the governing ringand the lower tube 'feeding rollers, the governing ring will remain inits upper position with the arms thereon hooked over the spring heldarms above the floor. The movement of the fabric through the tubeforming portion or side seeming portion of the apparatus is normallymore rapid than the flow of the. tube through the balance of themachine, so that the tube will pile up above the governing ring and bepuckered. around the tube. As soon as this puckering has increasedbeyond a certain point, further movement downwardly of the fabric tubewill exert apressure on the governing ring sufficient to disengage thehook lingers, thus cutting off the current and stopping the flow offabric through the tube forming or side seaming apparatus. There will beno further operation of this part of the apparatus until the surplus orstorage length of the tube has been drawn out, when the weights willpull the governing collar up, and operation of the side seamingapparatus will be resumed. Above the side seaming apparatus is asuitable weighing apparatus, not here illustrated. The weighing ormeasuring apparatus is arranged to periodically weigh out and dischargepre-weighed or pre-measured quantities of material to be -packed intothe bags. This material falls down through the side seaming apparatusand through the puckered portion of the fabric tube, which is protectedfrom the falling material by the filling tube. rlhis filling tubeterminates just below the conica-l tube forming or eX- panding member,so that the charge of material fed through this tube is discharged intothe fabric tube toward the top of the filling and cross seam apparatus,means not here shown being provided to cause a sufficientsynchronization of the weighing or measuring and the cross seaming partsof the apparatus.

The fabric tube is fed further down beyond the tube stretching springlingers which tend to stretch it out in a flat band. lt then passesdownwardly between the clamping and bag lifting jaws, which will be openat that time, and then between the packing jaws. The operator will thenclamp the clamping jaws together by manipulating the hand lever, andwill operate the sewing machine to sew up the open end of the bag tube,forming a double seam. He will then draw out the tube until the lowersewed end rests upon the jigging device, the clamping and lifting jawsand the packing jaws being both open. The material supplying ormeasuring apparatus will then be operated to drop a charge of materialinto the' lower end of the tube. The jigging device being always inoperation will, as soon as there is any load in the lower end of thetube, pack the material therein. The operator then closes the packingjaws by manipulating the hand lever, but these packing jaws do not clamptightly on the tube. There is a sufficient clearance between them topermit the bag to be pulled out. He then throws the clutch to startrotation of the crank disc. This iirst closes the clamping and liftingjaws during the first three eighths of the revolution of the disc, andthen during the next one eighth of the revolution, lifts, the closedclamping jaws, thus drawing the fabric of the bag back through thepacking jaws and compressing additionally any loose material on the topof the bag. Simultaneously with the upward movement of the clampingjaws, the cam will be rotated by the connecting link to pull down on thebell crank at the bottom of the machine and cause the supporting panelsto rotate upwardly, lifting,` the bag away from the jigging device sothat the tension on the bag fabric will be reduced and the lifting andclamping` jaws be able to exert their full force in taking up the slackand additionally packing the material in the bag.

rf'he operator then starts the sewing machine and, seizing the bag inhis hands between the upper and lower portions of the paci-:ing4 jaws,pulls the bag sideways past the sewing machine, the two needles of whichwill sew two parallel seams. The linife immediately beyond the needleswill, of course, cut the fabric of the tube between the two seams, andwhen the cross seaming has been completed the lower end of the tube willhave been cut off to form a separate bag. ylhis bagsg` can then betipped off the bag support and carried away by means not hereillustrated. i

Meantime, if desired, for the purpose of saving time, a further chargeof material may have been dropped down and may be held from furtherdownward movement in the tube either by the clamping,l and lifting` jawsor by the upper portion of the packing jaws, depending` upon the timingof the apparatus. ln any event. as soon as one bag; has been cut olli` acharee will be thrown into the lower closed end of the tube, the tubewill be drawn down until its lower end rests on the ji, `ng device, andthe process is repeated.

rlhe weight of the charge is all that is needed to carry the closed endof the tube down onto the jigging mechanism, and no mechanical means areneeded to draw out the bag fabric in the filling zone. The resistance tothe downward flow of the fabric laused b v the coiled spring issufficient to heep the fabric tight and prevent the drawing' out of morethan is needed. Thus the sole function of the nechanical tube propellre; means in the tube forming Zone is to im Lire that there will be, atall times, a suflirfient store of excess v.-naterial above the governorrings to insure that when the load drops into the closed end of the tubethere will be enough bag material to permit the lower end to drop downand rest on the jiggingfj devise.

The slack taking up apparatus is important because, after the bag` isjigged, the loose material takes less space, and, unless the slack inthe han' fabric thus left is taken up, 5;, eat waste of material ensues.Moreover the pressure exerted by the jaws tends to compact the loosematerial at the top of the package, and produces a bag,l which is lessliable to tear and the contents of which generally uniform in densityand thus of smaller volume than it otherwise would be.

The packing jaws merely furnish an abutlongitudinal pressure of thepuckered tube for controlling the operation of the tube4 forming` means.

2. ln combination, means for forming' a continuous flowing fabric tubecomprising an inner feeding tube, means for puclreringl the fabric tubelongitudinally upon the feeding tube, and means responsive to thelongitudinal pressure of the puclrered tube for corirolling` theoperation of the tube forming means, said controlling' means comprisine'a ring surrounding the feedingt tube, with just sufhcient clearancebetween the ring and feeding tube to permitl a gradual flow of thepuckered tube therebetween, yielding means tending` to move the ring'against the. liow of the tube, and a controlled circuit closed foroperation of the tube forming` means when the yielding' riimr movingmeans prevail and opened to discontinue the operation of the tubeforming; means when the yielding ring` moving' means are overcome.

3. ln combination, means for forming;` a continuous flowing fabric tubecoi'nprisinel an inner feeding tube, means for puclfering the fabrictube longitudinally upon the feedinc,` tube, and means responsive to thelon-- gitudinal pressure of the pucltered tube for controlling theoperation of the tube :torming means, said responsive means comprising amember surrounding the fabric tube and adapted to be pushed forward bythe pressure of the flowing; fabric.

f-lr. In combination, means for forming' a continuous flowingh fabrictube comprising' means for longitudinally pucliering the fabric tube andmeans responsive to the longitudinal pressure of the puckered tube forcontrolling the operation oi' the tube forming` means.

5. ln combination, means for folding` a fabric strip into tubular formand advancing' it about an inner fillingv tube, means for se* *ing`together the edges of the zulvancine; folded strip to forn' a tube.means for longitudinally puckering the fabric tube, and means responsiveto the pressure of the pucltered tube for controlling` the operation ofthe said advancingl and sewingV means.

G. in apparatus for forming a tube from llil lio

lBO

till

a moving fabric strip, a form and means for drawing the strip thereaboutand bringing the opposed lateral edges of said strip together, saidmeans comprising edge engaging members parallel with each other andinclined to the direction of travel of the strip, and means foryieldingly forcing them toward one another to grip the edges of thestrip between them.

i". ln apparatus for forming a tube from a fabric strip, a stationaryform, means for advancing the strip longitudinally along the form, andmeans for drawing the advancing tube snugly about the form, said drawingmeans comprising members parallel with each other and inclined to thedirection of travel of the fabric and adapted to engage the opposedlateral edges of the fabric.

S. ln apparatus for forming a tube from a fabric strip, a form, meansfor drawing the strip thereabout and bringing the opposed lateral edgesof the strip together, said means comprising edge engaging membersparallel with each other and inclined to the direction of travel of thestrip, and means adapted to sew a seam along the edges thus broughttogether.

9. ln combination, a form, means for drawing a continuous strip offabric therealong, means for stretching it thereabout to bring theopposed lateral edges tl'iereof together, means for permanently joiningsaid edges, means for closing the tube at spaced intervals and forsevering it to form separate bags, and means controlling the drawing,stretching and oining means in accordance with the operation of theclosing and severing means.

10. lin combination, a form, means for lrawing acontinuous strip offabric therealong, means for stretching it thereabout to bring theopposed lateral edges thereof together, means for sewing a side seamalong` said edges to permanently join them, means for closing the tubeat spaced intervals and for severing it to form separate bags, and meanscontrolling the drawing, stretching and joining means in accordance withthe operation of the closing and severing means.

1l. In combination, form consisting of two tubes, one within the other,with a free space between them, means for drawing a continuous strip offabric therealong, means for stretching it thereabout to bring theopposed lateral edges thereof together, means for permanently joiningsaid edges, and means for closing the tube spaced intervals and forsevering it to form separate bags.

lil. ln combination, a forni, means for drawing a continuous strip offabric therealong comprising feeding members engaging the fabric inopposition to the surface of the the form to bring the opposed lateraledges thereof together, means for permanently joining said edges, andmeans for closing the tube at spaced intervals and for severing it toform separate bags.

v13, ln combination, a form. means for drawing a continuous strip offabric therealong comprising feeding rollers engaging the fabric inopposition to the surface of the form and means for rotating them inunison, means for stretching the fabric about theform to bring theopposed lateral edges thereof together, means for permanently joiningsaid edges, and means for closing the tube at spaced intervals and forsevering it to form separate bags.

l-l. ln combination, a form, means for drawing a continuous strip offabric therealong, means for stretching it thereabout to bring theopposed lateral edges thereof together, said stretching means comprisingmembers which engage the surfaces of the fabric near its edge and movethe edges outwardly from the forni, means for permanently joining saidedges, and co-ordinated means for closing the tube at spaced intervalsand for severing it, adjacent each closure to form separate bags.

5. ln combination, a form, means for drawing a continuous strip offabric therealong, means for stretching it thereabout to bring theopposed lateral edges thereof together comprising rotatable rollerswhich engage the surfaces of the fabric near its edges and are inclinedto the line of travel of the fabric, means for pern'ianently joiningsaid edges, and means for closing the tube at spaced intervals and forsevering it to form separate bags.

i6. ln combination, a forni, means for drawing a continuous strip offabric therealong, means for stretching it thereabout to bring theopposed lateral edges thereof together, guide members adapted to engagethe edges of the fabric and bring them into alignment, means forpermanently joining said edges, and means for closing the tube at spacedintervals and for severing it to form separate bags.

l?. lin combination, a form, means for drawing a continuous strip offabric therealong, means for stretching it thereabout to bring theopposed lateral edges thereof together comprising guide members againstwhich the edges or the cloth abut and feeding members which tend toforce the edges of the cloth against the guide members, means forpermanently joining said edges, and means for closing the tube at spacedinA tervals and for severing it to form separate bags.

18. In combination, a form consisting of two tubes, one within theother, with an open space between them, means for draw- `form, means forstretching the fabric abouting in a continuous strip of fabric therennmi,

along comprising two sets oic feeding devices, both eng'ngingg' thesurtnce ot the liibi'ic;` one in opposition to the inner tube i ud theother iii opposition to the outer tubei ineens tor stretching theilinbiic about the i the opposed lnternl edges tir/root tone i l ineznsfor ierniunentljf joining' seid ed und ineens 'for closiiia' the Lube utpnced intei'viils und Vtei' sev ring` it to 'torni sepui'ute b i t). lncombinati i th e l n lita? lll i xi inner tube t to torni fion. torn'ei'insisting ot one vithin the other.. with u free thein nieni fordrawing' i g strip ot' fabric tiierenlong, ineens iing; it thereziboutto bring' the onlateralV edges thereof together, ineunsnerniunentlvjoining seid ecges to forni ebrio tube5 the inner tubeextendc end bevond the end et the outer be i i" enclosed within theflowing brie tube. :ind ineens tor closing' the fabric be :it spacedinter fails :ind for severing it t iorin .separate bags.

in ceinbination. u to 'in consisting' of two tubes7 one ot theinsubstantially the size :is the tube beingv torined? the other o i sercross sectional aren, ineens iter drawing: n continuous stript ot tebricalong' other ot lesser Cross sectional uren`r ineens i'or druwingr :icontinuous strip oi 'lzibi'ic uione; seid tunes -oinjprising tubrieengaging ineinbei's 2id-tip ed to chimp the fabric against the tub: s:ind nienns Ytor driving ssiid in'einbers t thx Sinne velocit); ineiinsfor strotchingY the tnbi'ic about one ot 'torni tribes nienns forjiininji' its edeges to Ytorni i the fabric tule ineens 'toi' 'feeding''forward :i continimus tlowingg' tube oi' Aubric. rind nier-,nsresponsive to the tlow oit fabric for controlling the ineens 'ter'feeding it out.

22E. in ceinbinutioiu n forni consisting` of two tubes one o'l` theinsubstuntinlly the suine size es the tube 'being torined7 the Vl s ysectional uren` ineens 'iuous strip oi" i'zibi'ic Ytiibi'ic enguethefabric i ir driving suid velocity7 nieens 'for Y 'fabric about one et'the :torni i fes to torni i i .v fi x ineens loi' ieedi e 1: to thetion' ot fabric for iiierxns tor feeding it out, ineens conuirising eeollui' be forced Lelong,`

udnpied to ibe et fabric? nud ineens ing the nioveinent of yl 211 incombination, s `torni consisting of two tubes, one ol rheinsubstantially the seine size es the. tube being forn'ied, the other oitsectionul eren, ineens iior cri` "i 'i oi 'fabric filone' sui'lon'ipi'isiiig iiibrie engaging udupttd e elnnip the fabric s i nbei's etth sinne velocity, ineens tor stretching Ahe iliibi'ie about one of the'torni tubes. ineens for joining its edges to iioi'ni the ilen'ic tube.)ineens 'for feeding :tor-

i --1 .Lbi ffb milio u continuons lion nig tu c o i rie, ind ineensresponsive to the flow of fabric 'ier controlling the ineens ttorfeeding it out, Suid controiling ineuiis comprising a collar engage-L`by Kind adapted to be forced along' with the flowing tube ot' fabric,ineens lor yieldinglv resisting the inovenient of the coller, switchineinbers eurried by the coller, und u latch assoeuited with said switchineinbei's for resisting n'ioveinent ot' the coller in the sinnedirection as the tube A tube termine' inuchine comprising' e torni,ineens Ltor drawing' u continuous strip ot izibric externallytherealeng, ineens for stretching' it thei'eubout to bring' the opposedlnterni edges thereof together and ioree theirL outward troni seid'tornL :ind u stop ineens menging such edges to liinit their outward nio veineiit.

2h, A tube Ytorni. ineiins owning' niuchine Comprising' u ir d 'swine' ucoiitii'iuous strip tubrie efiternzillj)7 thereulone. ineens for'etching it thereubout to bring' the opposed erf-ii edges thereoit'toe'ethei.' :ind 'torce tliein wurd trein seid i''orin. and u stopineens eine such edges to liinit their outward i 'enieiitj suid stopineens comprising poel(- ets through which the edities travel :is the ipasses along' the forni. A tube itoi'iniiie' u :ichine comprising` :iforni, ineens for drawing; it continuous strip ol .tnbrie externallytliereiiloiig', ineens for stretchingit thereubout to brine' the opposedlute 'ul et gres thereolf together und vtorce thein outward 'from saidtorni7 and :istop ineens ltlfi

